All In The Golden Afternoon {Open}

[briannafraser]

Time: 3:30 PM
Date: December 27th
Place: The library. Pff, where else would a girl bound to a book be?
Status: Open to one or two people.

Brianna had not been part of the BPRD for very long. In fact, she had generally been avoiding socializing with all these new people for as long as possible. So far, it had been a very easy task. Perhaps they were distancing themselves to give her a period of adjustment. Who knew the truth besides the people themselves? She was not a mind reader after all. If she were, she was sure that life would be easier though a lot noisier. Not that the book ever really gave her a break. Even know it was whispering in her mind to practice her magic. Learn new things.

Instead, she was curled in a chair, Victorian style boots barely sticking out of the mess of skirts and petticoats with a thick book of poetry on her lap. Alright, so the purple pinstripe dress was actually Edwardian instead of Victorian but the effect was the same. Her hair was up in its pigtail poms and the pince-nez shielded her eyes from any straight life force that might come her way by passersby. One could never rule out passersby.

Honestly, she just wasn’t sure what she was doing there, in that building. Bri knew that being with the BPRD meant that the book would likely not ever get to fulfill its darkest desires but that didn’t mean that she was actually supposed to be where she was. Still, she tried her best not to focus on that and instead quietly read aloud to herself, “Here are two pupils / whose moons of black / transform to cripples / all who look: each lovely lady / who peers inside / take on the body / of a toad.”

[drjuliusmayfair]

Christmas parties being what they were, the Library looked fine. And the carpet looked clean after the bar having been smashed to bits no thanks to Hellboy, who seemed to have taken a dislike to Julius. Julius wasn't afraid though. he had the Loa backing him. Even if Hellboy did break his arm...or leg...or neck. Julius shook the thought from his head, not wanting to think about it as he looked for a book.

He wasn't really looking for A book, per say. He was just amazed at the variety this library had to offer: Cookbooks (though he doubted anyone would be cooking anything from these tombs), poetry books, histories of long forgotten cities and people,herbal remedies... it was endless. And he had heard there were more downstairs. He had pulled a few log books on current ghost hunting expeditions, to get a feel for the work these people did opposed to his own manner of working when he noticed the girl in the chair.

She looked like some Edwardian china doll. He was thrown off by her manner of dress here, but then again, he was wearing a a black and gold pinstripe three piece suit, the vest under it was as bright as a new gold coin. His fedors would be hanging on a hook somewhere, ready to be worn out. That nudging feeling of the spirits surrounded her. She had something about death around her and he was slightly confused. She was a only a child. Was his eyes playing tricks on him? Was she just another spirit? A really good spirit? He discretely moved closer to see.

[briannafraser]

“Within these mirrors / the world inverts: / the fond admirer's / burning darts / turn back to injure / the thrusting hand / and inflame to danger / the scarlet wound.” Brianna had been so into her book (for it was her own. Silly to bring a book into a library but what better place for reading them) that she did not notice that there was a man in the library as well, perusing the shelves.

That did not mean that he went entirely unnoticed. The Book seemed to know that someone was present but it did not know precisely where or who. After all, a book only knows what’s written on its pages and what it gains from its masters. Still, its insistence that they were not alone was getting annoying so she placed her mark in between her pages with an unhappy sigh.

Slipping from the chair, she was bound and determined to leave. Just leave and let whoever was there alone. Only it didn’t quite work that way for once she stood, she found a man skulking about. She wanted to comment on how unusual his suit was but she kept her mouth shut on that particular subject. She was no one to talk about people dressing oddly. The real question was if the man was spying on her or just happened to be there. Skulking. A word which implied he was spying.

Brianna simply looked at the man for a brief silent moment before holding up her left hand to seemingly... talk to it, “That’s hardly an appropriate question.” She rolled her eyes after a moment then gave in, “A... spirit,” what? You expected her to actually say book or friend? “Wants to know if you’re a blackjack dealer with that suit and all.”

[drjuliusmayfair]

Julius had to brink when she moved. So she wasn't a spirit. She was a human with some sort of powerful aura around her. Well, not around her, but the thing on her wrist. He watched her move and knew she was annoyed at having been disturbed, and he was slightly ashamed he let his curiosity get the better of him. He tried to move away, to try and pretend he wasn't going to bother her but it was too late.

Was it a wrist communicator? She spoke to it and it seemed to speak to her. And it was rude. Blackjack dealer? He pressed his lips together, his crystal blue eyes looking her over and his eyes falling on her wrist, "For one, I would hardly call it a spirit. Trapped or otherwise, I would be able to tell. Your... magical item... is wrong. i am not a blackjack dealer. My name is Julius Mayfair, I'm the new paranormal investigator. I specialize in spirits and their surrounding world." He bowed slightly to her, "I am sorry if I bothered you, but your presents tripped my own ability."

[briannafraser]

Brianna was still often stunned how many people could tell she was lying when it came to the book. Only she didn’t just want to say, hey I’ve got a magical item attached to me. It wants to beat your face in. That would hardly make a good impression and anyone who thought otherwise was just... wrong in the head. Very, very wrong in the head.

“I apologize, Mister Mayfair. It can be terribly insistent that I speak for it and I’d rather speak the words than have it manifest.” Although it still sounded like she was talking about a spirit, the terms and ideas were pretty much the same thing. “I’m Brianna Fraser. Likely I wouldn’t have even noticed you were here if... the Book hadn’t been so annoying about there being someone sneaking around.”

Discreetly, she peered over the dark lenses of the pince-nez then tilted her head back up. He was alive. Well at least that was confirmed. She could never tell with people here. Since he was being so open about things, “I guess I specialize in um, raising the dead and ancient languages.” Well, nothing that occurred before the time of the Ancient Greeks was in her repertoire but that wasn’t something she needed to point out.

[drjuliusmayfair]

***“I apologize, Mister Mayfair. It can be terribly insistent that I speak for it and I’d rather speak the words than have it manifest. I’m Brianna Fraser. Likely I wouldn’t have even noticed you were here if... the Book hadn’t been so annoying about there being someone sneaking around.”***


Julius waved a hand, dismissing her embarrassment over her magical annoying....friend. "I have to say that I was attracted to you, or maybe your... ah... companion. I have a gift for spirits and i wanted to investigate." he chuckled at his little joke and then cleared his throat. "Don't feel bad, I have come across people with such...burdens." He eyed the silver shackle on her wrist, "You hear that, you annoyance." He wasn't going to let something that didnt have a face push him around or this lovely young lady.

In this business, he knew, coming across people with strange attachments was inevitable. "Raise the dead?" That caught his attention. Zombies. He preferred to create living zombies, they were easy and didn't require such large amounts of magic. "We have something in common." He let a small smile flit across his mouth.

[briannafraser]

"I have to say that I was attracted to you, or maybe your... ah... companion. I have a gift for spirits and I wanted to investigate." Brianna smiled faintly though there was a soft blush to her cheeks. What a horrible thing for someone very nearly her father’s age (she assumed) to say. The first part, that is. She decided to ignore it. "Don't feel bad, I have come across people with such...burdens." He eyed the silver shackle on her wrist, "You hear that, you annoyance."

She pressed her lips together and pressed her hand to her chest, “It’d be better if you didn’t insult it. I’d rather it didn’t get provoked into showing itself.” But Brianna did not want to explain that what ever was trapped inside the book to give it its mind could take over her body. It wasn’t a pleasant experience for her though the book enjoyed it far too much.

"Raise the dead? We have something in common."

Bri shook her head lightly, hugging her book of poetry almost self-consciously, “I highly doubt that, Mister Mayfair. I’m merely a vessel for the Book of the Moirae. My power is not my own.” It seemed like all it took was saying the name of the book to cause it to manifest. From the shackle blackness flowed forming a light but very strong chain followed by the black bound book and its silver decorations. It was a terribly thick book but Bri held it like it had no weight at all.

[drjuliusmayfair]

He noticed her blush and was puzzled. He was such a ninny when it came to girls. he had a few brief romances (All in his own age range), and he wasn't sure why she would blush. He shrugged it off. Women were...strange creatures.

***“It’d be better if you didn’t insult it. I’d rather it didn’t get provoked into showing itself.” ***

He took a step back and Jules nodded, "I am sorry. I can see you are in this against your will. I don't mean to cause you trouble." There was a slight silence after he had perked up at the mention of raising the dead. Was she ashamed of it? Poor girl was just an unwilling puppet. Arn't we all... Jules thought, with a sad thought to his mother and his own gift. Sometimes it was a burden.

She was speaking and he almost missed her words, but the surge of magic was hard to miss. The Book of the Moirae appeared. Jules stumbled back, "By Legba's pipe!"

[briannafraser]

Brianna smiled darkly, “Don’t worry about causing me trouble. I get into enough of it by myself.” Which was terribly true. It had been her devilish curiosity that had gotten her connected to the book after all. It’d been her want to study the paranormal and other such realms that had gotten her into the bookstore in the first place. Each piece of her life seemed to have led up to that particular moment. So any trouble that occurred was no fault of Julius’.

"By Legba's pipe!"

The book seemed to shudder and a muffled rasp of laughter of an undetermined gender seemed to escape from between the covers. “It assumes you know it then. And says that your little gatekeeper is hardly something to swear by.” From the angle she held her head, half staring at the floor; her eyes were visible from the pince-nez. The whites were starting to turn black but the soft command of “No” set them back to normal.

She smiled a little mischievously, “I’m almost tempted to go get my staff and see if you can identify it after that reaction.”

[drjuliusmayfair]

Julius narrowed his eyes at the book but bit his tongue. he wanted to tell off this upstart magical...arse. But he wouldn't. It disliked show offs. It was showing off it's power and it was bating Jules. He had seen things that would turn men's hair white, he himself had a few white hairs on his head and chest. That included what happened when a priest tried to open the gates before praying to Legba.

"I would rather you didn't," he said darkly, his lips tight, "I am sorry I bothered you and invoked this... your..." He closed his eyes, trying to calm his anger. He disliked this wash of power so close without preparation or protection. "Your burden," he finished.

"I have some paperwork to finish up. Maybe we can meet agian under not so startling circumstances." He turned slightly, but turned back, bowing a little, then turned to leave the library.

[briannafraser]

Of course it was baiting Julius. The Book was an outright mean cur and liked to stir things up. It wanted to bloody well destroy the world. What was one silly follower of Vodou going to do about it?

Honestly, Brianna was surprised that he didn’t want to see the staff. Most who had seen the book were dead curious about the staff – pun not intended. At least that, she could physically fetch instead of having to manifest it though that could be done as well. It was just very difficult to transport the blood and the staff to the same place and ended rather messily. The book was sure she’d get the hang of it eventually.

"I have some paperwork to finish up. Maybe we can meet again under not so startling circumstances."

“Oh wait – um,” she stepped after Julius though paused to tell the book to “Bugger off”. There was sort of an indignant ruffle of pages before it simply melted back into the shackle a little less spectacularly than it came. “Really, it’s not usually so badly behaved only it’s a bloody peacock really.” What could she possibly say to get the man to stay? Was she really that starved for company outside of the book? “What’s a Legba?”

[drjuliusmayfair]

He turned and looked at Brianna. She was so young, too young to maybe have such a heavy burden upon her. This thing seemed so apart of her life, she was just accustomed to its tantrums, and this made him sad. He pushed this away, refusing to allow himself to let this bother him. It was none of his lookout. But she reminded him so of his sisters and after they parted at Mum's funeral... He always felt remorse for it. He wasn't like that anymore. Then again, he never tried to contact them. He did send them money every month, and they accepted it, as far as he knew.

"I don't know if you were speaking for the book, who obviously knows who Legba is." he gave her wrist a scowling look. "Here, have a seat." He waved to the chairs, "Voodoo, or Vodou is a little complicated to explain."

[briannafraser]

"I don't know if you were speaking for the book, who obviously knows who Legba is." he gave her wrist a scowling look. "Here, have a seat." He waved to the chairs, "Voodoo, or Vodou is a little complicated to explain."

Brianna was excited. She shouldn’t have been or so the book thought as it didn’t like her to learn anything outside of what it taught her or anything outside of Greek mythology. Still, she bounced on her toes and rushed over to her previous chair. Her legs curled under her automatically and she straightened the series of skirts.

“Yes, that was the book. It learns what its previous masters know but doesn’t always share that information. Books are hoarders that way or so I’ve come to understand.” Bri reached into one of her poms and produced a pen. It wasn’t magic as there had in fact been a pen hidden in her hair. She chewed a nail on her right index finger for a moment, looking for something to write on. She wasn’t going to write in her Sylvia Plath book!

She was inspired. Bri unbuttoned her left sleeve and rolled it up far above her elbow and twisted to rest her arm on the arm rest. It was an awkward position but she was poised to take notes. On her scarred arm. “I’m keen to know. I tried to learn a little on my own but it’s a little more complicated than I expected. There so many links with other religions its like a tangled mess.”

[drjuliusmayfair]

Julius sat down in the chair he had moved across from her and laughed at her rushing around for a pen and paper. He had felt the same way when coming across Voodoo. It seemed just like yesterday when he went down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. His friends said he would love it. He did enjoy the city. He loved the city. He fell in love with it the same he did Voodoo. He had a stack of books he had been carrying all along, at the bottom was a legal pad he had written book locations and notes on. he handed this to her to use instead of her arm.

"It took me years to learn it all. I had to leanr the rules, who to pray to first, how to pray. It wasn't hard, my parents were devout Catholics. I knew the saints and such, who play a large role in Voodoo. Its a mix of different religions, created by slaves. It has its cores in Africa and when they slaves were brought to America, they took different aspects from the religions that were already here and it all came together. Its a little different if you go into Haiti, they way they pray, the meetings and such. I practice a very fine art that's more like Vodou, from Haiti."

He took a breath, and as he did, he dug into his pocket, pulling out a rope that seemed made of hair. It was small, tied in a circle with small beads and a few feathers tied to it, "A gris-gris my mentor gave to me." He offered it to her to look at.

[briannafraser]

“Oh thank you,” she said absently as she took the notepad from Julius and flipped to a blank page. She scribbled down the topic then what little she knew along with pieces of what he was telling her. Bri smiled faintly to herself. Most of this was pretty standard from what she’d read and personal experience with learning certain things. And honestly, of course it was different in another country. When she read Greek myths written down by American sources, they were vastly different from the ancient versions the book told her... Of course, the book claimed that those were the positively true versions. It made them sound much more horrible than the poorly translated and half lost stories.

Brianna gently accepted the gris-gris to examine and wrote as she looked it over which was a talent all in itself though the handwriting was poor and all over the place because of it. She seemed to glance over to her ‘burden’ as Julius was calling it, “Aaah, like an apotrope.” She half smiled and set down the pen, holding her hand up in the Buddhist Karana mudra – the hand with the palm facing a way from the body and only the pinky and index finger pointing straight up while the others folded inward and quietly added, “A ward from evil.”

She held the gris-gris back out to Julius, “Well then, I shouldn’t hold it for too long. Wouldn’t want it to lose its connection to you.” Every book she’d ever read said that carrying certain objects around with you often made them tune in to your energy.